Significantly decreasing Memphis’ poverty rate will require the combined efforts of national, state and local governments as well as profits/not-for-profits and faith groups/churches. Let’s however, narrow the […]

He still wears his cowboy hat to the office. This Texas native can’t shed himself of this reminder of his roots. He’s served in the Mid South for 45 years, at one congregation-the Highland Church of Christ. […]

In an interview about his forthcoming book Urban Apologetics Christopher Brooks writes that the kind of apologetic most needed in urban settings today is not conversational but incarnational. That is, it’s one […]

Another snowstorm blanketed our mountain-top home that first week of December. It meant our annual Christmas-tree-cutting would be an even greater adventure. Each year at December’s beginning my twin brother, Dad […]

My family purchased an outdoor decoration for Halloween this year. It was a life-sized bride-skeleton and groom-skeleton standing together and dressed as if they were in a receiving line after their wedding. A […]

Without question, without reservation, my faith in Jesus compels me to support efforts that bless children. Especially when those children live in one of the poorest metro areas in the nation. That’s why the […]

For some, joy is like that Christmas gift which is being sent by a family members who’s not very timely. I’ve got a family member like that. Don’t you? Each Christmas he promises to get that gift in the mail for […]

One of the texts which many Christians are led to through their lectionary this month contains a prophecy from Isaiah: 3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and [...]

If I could, I would give Memphis the gift of hope. In Man’s Search for Meaning , Victor Frankl wrote about the importance of hope. He watched the effect of hope and hopeless on the prisoners in Auschwitz and chronicled his observations. Frankl noted that the death rate in camp increased exponentially between Christmas 1944 and New Years…[Read more]

“You have the power to change someone’s life from misery to miracle.” One thing that made me thankful to live in Memphis in 2012 was the Agape Heartlight event at which Maya Angelou spoke this line. On Aug. 25, Dr. Angelou testified at the Cannon Center in downtown Memphis about individuals who had turned her [...]

We are not just facing a crisis of resources. We are facing a crisis of relationship. The cliff we are nearing is not just a commentary on cash. It’s a commentary on collaboration. The question is no longer “Can we solve our budget problems?” There are reasonable solutions available which strive to balance stewardship and [...]

Which Memphis-area house of worship do you find most beautiful, spiritual, sacred? And why? God’s presence went from theoretical to actual for me in a rustic cabin nestled among the 145 acres of Saint Columba . Just a ten minute drive from my Bartlett home and only twenty to thirty minutes from many locations in metro-Memphis, Saint Columba [...]

By Chris Altrock Special to The Commercial Appeal On behalf of Memphis-area churches of Christ, I’d like to say the following: Disregard anyone claiming to speak for churches of Christ. Several days ago, a full-page ad appeared in The Commercial Appeal. Its author indicated that the ad was presented on behalf of “area churches of Christ.” The [...]

If you were addressing the nation on Wednesday, Nov. 7, the DAY AFTER the election, what would you say? What advice would you offer to your fellow Americans about the next four years? 1,460 days of prayer. That’s what I propose. For Christians whose candidate wins. For Christians whose candidate loses. 1,460 days of prayer. Let’s make [...]

How do you define dying well? By all accounts, my hero-in-the-faith is dying well. As I write, Joseph L. Cannon is approaching his sunset. Having planted hundreds of churches across the world, started schools, and trained thousands for ministry, Joe is finishing his race. He’s being well-cared for in a quiet and beautiful hospice full of…[Read more]

What is your favorite verse of holy scripture and why? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? This cutting line from Jesus’ lips brings great comfort to me. So many of us, in the words of Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann, have been taught that negativity is “an act of unfaith.” That is, if [...]

Memphis is the second most generous city in the country, according to a new survey by The Chronicle of Philanthropy. According to the publication: “Religion plays a major role in how much money Americans give to charity. The parts of the country that tend to be more religious are also more generous.” Why is this true? [...]

What are your views of the food-stamp program and the proposed cuts to it? The earliest civil legislation in the Bible mandated a way for food to be provided to the poor in a way that was both charitable and empowering. Agricultural leaders (“the” business and community leaders of the day) were to leave the edges of [...]